Larian Studios is officially opening the floodgates for modders, with a full Baldur’s Gate 3 modding toolkit coming in September 2024, as part of an upcoming patch.
Announced on Twitter/X with an accompanying patch note entitled Community Update #27, the official Baldur’s Gate 3 modding toolkit is far and away the standout announcement for a patch that will also include general hotfixes, quality of life improvements, and new evil game endings.
With a closed alpha beginning today (comprised of invited modders who are active in the community), a closed beta set to arrive in July, and a full rollout in September, the patch and associated toolkit will be accessible to the community in phases.
Larian Studios’ always tongue-in-cheek notes reference the news excitedly. “Coming to you this September, the next major update for Baldur’s Gate 3 will also introduce an officially sanctioned toolkit for giving Lae’zel a mullet,” it reads. “I mean, sure, go for it. You only live once.”
“Whether you are a seasoned modder excited to continue developing mods for Baldur’s Gate 3 or you are new to the scene and want to try your hand at bringing your ideas to life, our new modding pipeline aims to provide a convenient way for players and creators alike to access and manage mods across all platforms Baldur’s Gate 3 is released on, with improved compatibility, tools, and documentation.”
So whether you want to simply change up the colour of certain effects, or completely overhaul the available classes and races (Air Genasi, anyone?), the Baldur’s Gate 3 modding toolkit should help make it happen.
How will the Baldur’s Gate 3 modding toolkit differ from existing mods?
There’s already a thriving mod community for Baldur’s Gate 3, with mods covering everything from new outfits and spells, through to abstract interpretations of characters (the Handsome Squidward Astarion mod is an unlikely community favourite). So the question remains: what will really change with this patch?
The critical difference between community-driven third-party mods (even extremely popular mods, like Tav’s Hair Salon) and the toolkit introduced as part of this patch is simple: it all comes down to support.
Currently, modders have to update their content with each new game update in order to avoid any clashes or mod-breaking script. With the introduction of an official Baldur’s Gate 3 modding toolkit, any mods created with these resources should be significantly more compatible – hopefully resulting in fewer issues.
Per the announcement, “We will never prevent modding outside of our own official pipeline, but implementing our own will improve compatibility and give us the opportunity to ensure they’ll work wherever you’re playing Baldur’s Gate 3.”
Read: Larian opens new Poland studio after Baldur’s Gate 3 success
How will the Baldur’s Gate 3 modding toolkit work?
According to the patch notes, the Baldur’s Gate 3 modding toolkit will release first on PC (via user-generated content support platform Mod.io), with the mods in question rolling out to other platforms soon after.
Every mod will be subject to “general stability and Terms of Service checks,” and Larian has stressed there will be guidelines published to help users understand what will and won’t make the cut – especially when it comes to cross-platform support. While the tools won’t be available for use on console, the mods themselves will be – with each going through an additional layer of curation.
These curation stages will be in place to ensure all content is safe, technically acceptable, and in alignment with Dungeons & Dragons licensing.
Per the patch notes, “Our goal with mod.io and our partners is to strike a balance that allows for extensive modding while keeping the guidelines in mind, and to open the door for mods to reach as many players as possible while ensuring they work seamlessly across different platforms.”
